I’ve mentioned it on the show a couple of times, but this is my favorite holiday by far.

I’ve got nothing against the other holidays. I’m not much of a partier, so New Year’s Eve doesn’t do much for me. Easter and Halloween have lost a lot of their appeal because I don’t eat nearly as much candy as I did when I was a kid. Thanksgiving is always a disjointed experience when you’re a divorce kid, because you never really have all the family together. And while Bastille Day is a close second — I love me some Bastille Day — it just pales in comparison to Christmas.

(Actually, the runner-up would be Independence Day, because I love the setup — burgers, hot dogs, barbecue, picnics, fireworks. Also, AMERICA. Hard to argue with that.

So once the calendar hits December, I get excited. After all, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

The most surprising thing to me nowadays is that I like Christmas for way more than just the presents. Obviously, when I was a kid, that was what it was all about. I remember getting a new Game Boy (yes, the brick-like black-and-white one) when I was 5 or 6 and thinking it was the best day ever. I also remember getting green underwear from my grandma, which someone didn’t turn me off of Christmas for all time.

But somewhere around high school, that stuff started to matter less. Sure, receiving gifts is still nice and fun and all, and giving gifts has actually gone higher up on the list because getting someone a well-thought-out present is like a puzzle. The whole holiday is more than that stuff now, though.

Take decorations. I think my favorite part of the season is the beginning, when the tree and lights go up and wreaths go on the door (and if you’re in a city with snow, sometimes Mother Nature helps out with the look a bit). Come December, you can drive down the street in residential neighborhoods and see all sorts of houses dolled up for the holidays.

Or the music. Yes, there are plenty of annoying Christmas songs and a lot of them get overplayed. But some of them are classics — and you only hear them one month out of the year (unless you know someone who plays X-mas music yearround, in which case you need to spearhead the effort to get them help). Entire radio stations and Pandora playlists are devoted just to the music of the season.

Or the food. See, Christmas ultimately ends up being a lot like Thanksgiving for some families. You’ve still got turkey and ham with stuffing and bread and all the other usual side dishes. Christmas gets the edge in my book because it incorporates that stuff, and adds in freshly baked, decorated cookies. I love cookies. I love every kind of cookies.

Even though the reasons have changed over time, this is the one holiday that I’m completely invested in. And that makes the final month of the year the best in my book.